Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinker
Starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Nick Jonas
Release Date December 20th, 2017
I was not a fan of the noisy, roiling cacophony of special effects and sound that was Jumanji. Director Joe Johnson seemed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the screen while Robin Williams whooped and hollered and obvious metaphors about family and fathers and sons occasionally forced their way through the chaos. Jumanji 1995 isn’t a terrible movie, but it just wasn’t my taste.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, however, is right in my sweet spot. The newest iteration of Jumanji from director Jake Kasdan and five screenwriters, may not be the best example of classic cinema, but it is a surefire spectacle. A great cast, solid special effects and solid direction of a chaotic story all come together to create a year-end blockbuster good for just about any audience.
Dwayne 'The Rock’ Johnson stars in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, the videogame avatar of a nerd named Spencer (Alex Wolff). Spencer happened to be in detention when a fellow student and former friend from grade school, Fridge (Ser’Darius Blaine), found an old video game and the two decide to play it. Joining them is popular girl Bethany (Madison Iseman) and outsider Martha (Morgan Turner).
A prologue has shown us that the Jumanji game is capable of evolution. After being given as a gift to Alex (Joe Jonas), sometime in the late nineties, the game somehow turned itself into a video game from a board game and sucked Alex into the game. Now, Spencer and his detention friends are also sucked into the game and, as a group, they must use their avatars to navigate the game and stay alive in Jumanji.
Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal
